7/15/2021 Python String Formatting

To make sure a string will display as expected, we can format the result with
the format() method.

String format()
The format() method allows you to format selected parts of a string.

Sometimes there are parts of a text that you do not control, maybe they come from a database,
or user input?

To control such values, add placeholders (curly brackets {} ) in the text, and run the values
through the format() method:

Example
Add a placeholder where you want to display the price:

price = 49
txt = "The price is {} dollars"
print(txt.format(price))

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You can add parameters inside the curly brackets to specify how to convert the value:

Example
Format the price to be displayed as a number with two decimals:

txt = "The price is {:.2f} dollars"

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Check out all formatting types in our String format() Reference.

Multiple Values
If you want to use more values, just add more values to the format() method:
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print(txt.format(price, itemno, count))

And add more placeholders:

Example
quantity = 3
itemno = 567
price = 49
myorder = "I want {} pieces of item number {} for {:.2f} dollars."
print(myorder.format(quantity, itemno, price))

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Index Numbers
You can use index numbers (a number inside the curly brackets {0} ) to be sure the values are
placed in the correct placeholders:

Example
quantity = 3
itemno = 567
price = 49
myorder = "I want {0} pieces of item number {1} for {2:.2f} dollars."
print(myorder.format(quantity, itemno, price))

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Also, if you want to refer to the same value more than once, use the index number:

Example
age = 36
name = "John"

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txt = "His name is {1}. {1} is {0} years old."

print(txt.format(age, name))

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Named Indexes
You can also use named indexes by entering a name inside the curly brackets {carname} , but
then you must use names when you pass the parameter values txt.format(carname =
"Ford") :

Example
myorder = "I have a {carname}, it is a {model}."
print(myorder.format(carname = "Ford", model = "Mustang"))

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